Alarm für Cobra 11: a 15th birthday celebration

Today marks the 15th anniversary of Alarm für Cobra 11: die Autobahnpolizei, a German show I have followed for just over a half of its run.    I’ve watched it through budget cuts and some naff storylines of late. It’s of some interest to chart the course of the show over these many years.   […]

Read More… from Alarm für Cobra 11: a 15th birthday celebration



We all belong to the Christchurch region

Above Good Living, November 11, 2009, with Angela Stone and Megan Banks. Or, the day I met Donna Manning, who produced the show. I drove in a total daze today. The last time I felt like this was September 12, 2001,* the day of the World Trade Center attacks.    And then I learned a […]

Read More… from We all belong to the Christchurch region



Raw footage from Christchurch

It feels more raw when it’s been shot by a regular Joe and uploaded to YouTube: some first-hand footage from the earthquake in Christchurch today. I am, in spirit, with all people in Christchurch in the wake of this tragedy. You may also like A year of random thoughts: 2014 in review We all belong […]

Read More… from Raw footage from Christchurch



Fax and text spam: bad marketing moves

Above I’d mention the war, but Honda was founded after the surrender. I despise fax-spam, and under my reading of the Telecommunications Act, these come under nuisance calls. But regardless of the legality, it seems rather hypocritical for Honda to have sent me one for its Insight hybrid car.    Think about it: a lot […]

Read More… from Fax and text spam: bad marketing moves



Hannah Gordon and Robert Vaughn, four decades on in Hustle

This is the sort of thing that would normally wind up on my Tumblr, but it’s a tad hard to do two images without a bit of clever HTML programming.    Whomever did the casting for Hustle was very clever with the final episode of the season. To play Robert Vaughn’s old flame, actress Hannah […]

Read More… from Hannah Gordon and Robert Vaughn, four decades on in Hustle



Not quite a remake, but similar

I saw the première episode of No Ordinary Family, plus a bit of the second, and I couldn’t help but think of this:    Some folks fly to a strange place, have a plane crash, come back with special powers. One of them is an attractive blonde woman.    Where it differs is that one […]

Read More… from Not quite a remake, but similar



Chrysler is Detroit-thug tough

Chrysler, Eminem: Imported from Detroit (2011) To take a leaf from Adland, where this is hosted, Chrysler’s message is: buy this ugly car or Eminem will beat you up.    To be fair, the cinematographer has picked some good angles for the 200 so it doesn’t look like a rehashed Sebring. Shooting it at night […]

Read More… from Chrysler is Detroit-thug tough



My holiday as a car anorak

Since New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are about the only two days I actually take off, I spent some time adding entries on Autocade, a site that doesn’t seem like “work” to me. It’s my hobby.    The randomizer, which my friend Peter Jobes installed for me on the site’s home page, came […]

Read More… from My holiday as a car anorak



Ricky Gervais offends … actually, I don’t know whom

Normally I think Piers Morgan is a plonker, and the time Jeremy Clarkson punched him at the BAFTAs remains one of entertainment’s best stories.    However, I have enjoyed Life Stories, and he has been a worthy successor, in my mind, to Larry King. Of course it’s not the same show, but the important thing […]

Read More… from Ricky Gervais offends … actually, I don’t know whom



Opel is not a snob brand

Arthur Daley, Opel’s last New Zealand spokesman: ‘Never mind the Capri, Tel: I sell Opels now.’ In the Fairfax Press, General Motors has apparently confirmed it will bring in Opel-branded cars to sell alongside Holden-branded ones.    It’s an obvious move. For years, a good part of Holden’s range was Opel-designed. Like Vauxhall, the model […]

Read More… from Opel is not a snob brand